The Effect of Amorphous Layer at NiCr/Ni Silicide Interface on the Sheet Resistivity of Ni Silicides

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Two sets of samples with different interfacial amorphous layers were prepared: one with Pt impurity (Pt process) and the other without Pt impurity (Pt-free process) at NiCr/Si interfaces. Following annealing, Cr-rich amorphous layers (a-layers) with and without Pt impurity formed at NiCr/Ni silicide interfaces, respectively. These a-layers control the formation and the growth of Ni silicides. The Pt impurity seems to move with the a-layers and suppress the growth of the a-layers. The a-layers without Pt impurity are therefore thicker and thermally more stable. The thicker a-layers result in larger silicide grains and more uniform silicide layers. Thus, Ni silicides with low sheet resistivity can be obtained by this Pt-free process.